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Promotion and Tenure Policies and Procedures Workshop

Susan S. WilliamsVice Provost for Academic Policy

and Faculty Resources Fall 2013

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Topics• Definitions• Responsibilities of POD and P&T Chair• Principles• Process

• Letters• Dossiers• Distribution of Materials• Procedural Errors and New Information

Office of Academic Affairs

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Definitions• P&T Committee• Eligible Faculty• Mandatory Review (including 4th and Penultimate Year)• Non-mandatory Review• Tenure-initiating Unit• Procedures Oversight Designee (POD)

Office of Academic Affairs

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APT Documents• Include both criteria and documentation (not all

documentation has to move to the next level of review)• Posted on the OAA website (http://

oaa.osu.edu/governance.html)• Should be reviewed by eligible faculty as part of

consideration of case and included in dossiers of any cases with negative recommendations

Office of Academic Affairs

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Responsibilities of P&T ChairEarly fall semester• Appoint Procedures Oversight Designee (POD)• Review candidates’ dossiers for completeness and

accuracy• Meet with candidates for clarification as necessary• Help adjudicate conflicts of interest as necessary

Office of Academic Affairs

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Responsibilities of P&T ChairMid fall semester• Write letter summarizing eligible faculty’s analysis of each

candidate, including faculty vote and summary of perspectives expressed during the meeting

• Provide a written response on behalf of eligible faculty to any comments that warrant response for inclusion in dossier

• Provide written evaluation and recommendation to department chair in case of jointly appointed faculty whose TIU is elsewhere (if called for in APT Document)

Office of Academic Affairs

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Responsibilities of P&T ChairSpring semester• Review APT Document• Consider requests from faculty members seeking non-

mandatory review• Suggest names for external evaluators to department

chair or solicit letters on behalf of chair• Provide consultation with chair regarding requests to

lengthen the probationary period for tenure-track faculty

Office of Academic Affairs

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Discussion question: How does your unit go about identifying candidates for non-mandatory review? How do you address the question of “early” reviews for promotion to associate or full professor?

Office of Academic Affairs

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Principles of the Promotion and Tenure Process at Ohio State• Specific criteria developed by the 104 TIUs in APT

Documents• Peer review (internal and external faculty colleagues)• 3 levels of review: unit, college, Office of Academic Affairs

Office of Academic Affairs

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Internal Peer Review (Rule 3335-6-01 (A))• Provides the foundation for decisions regarding faculty appointment,

reappointment, and promotion and tenure. Peers are those faculty who can be expected to be most knowledgeable regarding an individual’s qualifications and performance—normally TIU colleagues or colleagues in related units or centers

• Recommendations by the faculty vested with the responsibility for providing peer review will be accepted unless they are not supported by the evidence presented regarding how the candidate meets the criteria established by the unit. Administrators and faculty review bodies at the college or university level may make a recommendation that is contrary to that of the TIU if, in its judgment, the TIU recommendation is not consistent with university, college, and TIU standards, criteria, policies, and rules.

Office of Academic Affairs

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External Peer Review• Need 5 letters• No more than half by the candidate; solicited by chair or

P&T chair• Arms’ length (e.g., not advisors; major collaborators; post-

doctoral supervisors)• Credible source/peer institution (higher rank)• Should focus on research/scholarship unless

documentation of other areas is included• Open-records laws

Office of Academic Affairs

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Internal Review Letters• Need to be solicited by TIU head or P&T committee chair• Collaborators• Other units on campus in which the candidate holds a

joint or courtesy appointment (including centers)• Regional campus letters if applicable• Peer reviews of teaching• Annual review letters (date of hire or past 5 years)• 4th Year Review letter

Office of Academic Affairs

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Peer Review—Eligible Faculty• Conflict of interest• Collaborators within department

Office of Academic Affairs

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Core Dossier• Importance of narrative sections

• Research and teaching statements• Description of collaborative effort• Quality indicators

• Items should only be listed once

Office of Academic Affairs

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TIU Level Review• Preparation and presentation of case• Distribution of materials• Confidentiality

Office of Academic Affairs

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Voting of Eligible Faculty• Must attend meeting in order to vote• Attendance can be via teleconference or other means• Vote can be held immediately after meeting or for some

time afterwards• Vote can be electronic• Regional campus faculty can vote• Abstentions do not count as a vote

Office of Academic Affairs

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Voting of Eligible Faculty• Quorum and percentage vote needed for a positive

recommendation are spelled out in APT Document.• Quorum does not count eligible faculty who are on leave

or have a conflict of interest.• Percentage needed for a positive vote varies by unit from

simple majority to 2/3 to 75%• Can add faculty outside of unit if needed to meet

minimum composition.

Office of Academic Affairs

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TIU Review• TIU head may attend the meeting but not vote.• P&T chair writes a letter summarizing the review and

reporting the vote.• TIU head makes independent assessment.

Office of Academic Affairs

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Internal Recommendation Letters• Summary of TIU eligible faculty assessment and vote

• Contextualize vote• Fulfillment of criteria• Peer evaluation of documented record

• TIU head’s independent assessment• Minimal repetition of record• Interpretation and assessment including relation to mission of unit

Office of Academic Affairs

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TIU Recommendation• Candidate has right to review and comment on the letters

within 10 days

Discussion question: What practice does your unit have regarding how to make sure that the candidate has this right to review?

Office of Academic Affairs

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Withdrawing from Review• Only the candidate can stop the review once it has

begun.• Withdrawing from a mandatory review must be in writing

and accompany a letter of resignation to the TIU head.• Last date of employment is no later than May 31 of the

year following the mandatory review year.• Letter must acknowledge that the decision to terminate is

irrevocable and that tenure will not be granted.

Office of Academic Affairs

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Procedural Errors and New Information• Significant procedural errors (those that reasonably could

have affected the outcome of the deliberations) should be corrected before the review continues. The error should be corrected at the level where the error occurred and be fully reconsidered from that point onward.

• Occasionally it may be appropriate to amend the record when significant new information becomes available. An amended record must be reviewed by all parties to the review process.

Office of Academic Affairs

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Lateral Hires of Senior Faculty• When a department is considering making an offer at

senior rank (associate or full professor), the eligible faculty must vote on the appropriateness of the rank being considered. OAA does not require a full dossier for consideration.• Copy of draft letter of offer• Candidate’s CV• 5 external letters• Reviews and recommendations by

• Eligible faculty• TIU head• College dean

Office of Academic Affairs

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Off-cycle Review as Part of Retention Effort• Off-cycle reviews that are part of a retention effort require

complete dossiers, including the core dossier. Consideration of an off-cycle review must be accompanied by evidence of a competing offer for tenure/promotion.

Office of Academic Affairs